Description: This report briefly describes the relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) rules governing domestic support programs under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM). The report then reviews the current U.S. farm safety net programs in light of their potential for compliance with the AoA and SCM and their potential to affect the success of the current Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.

Description: This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

Description: This report includes a fact sheet based on the draft bill and committee report (H.Rept. 114-102) and is designed as a time-urgent product offering Members the best available information about the bill pending publication of a CRS report on the FY2016 Defense Authorization and Appropriations legislation.

Description: This report discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) policies regarding transgender service. Previously, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would take the position in litigation that the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act extends to an individual's gender identity. Though Title VII does not apply to military personnel, for some, this change in the Administration's position has raised questions about U.S. law and DOD policies.

Description: This report describes the Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI), the rationale for the sharing of terrorism-related Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), and how the NSI seeks to achieve this objective. It examines the privacy and civil liberties concerns raised by the initiative and identifies other oversight issues for Congress.

Description: This report discusses the legal framework that applies to private security contractors (PSCs) in Iraq and Afghanistan. After presenting a general description of the types of law applicable, including international humanitarian law and relevant status of forces agreements, the report addresses some implications of international law and a multilateral proposal for the adoption of international "best practices" regarding the use of PSCs. The report follows up with a discussion of jurisdiction over PSC personnel in U.S. courts, whether federal or military courts, identifying possible means of prosecuting contractor personnel who are accused of violating the law overseas in the context of U.S. military operations, including a listing of known cases that have occurred or are pending. Finally, the report briefly discusses the possible implication of the roles of private security contractors with respect to inherently governmental functions.

Description: This report is a brief primer on the United Kingdom's (UK) general election, which is set to take place May 7, 2015. The previous election, in 2010, resulted in a "hung Parliament," as no party won a majority of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

Description: This report discusses pieces of legislation passed by Congress that are intended to help surmount failures in public safety radio communications such as (1) insufficient interoperability among radio systems, a problem that hampered rescue efforts on and after September 11; and (2) insufficiently robust networks, a shortcoming revealed after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.